Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Bought by Jump Financial LLC

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 2,963.9%, owning 283,591 shares after acquiring an additional 274,335 shares during the first quarter.
• Vistra Corp. missed analysts' earnings estimates for the last quarter, reporting $1.01 EPS against a consensus of $1.63, and a revenue of $4.25 billion compared to an expected $5.15 billion.
• Vistra recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.226 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.90 and a yield of 0.5%.

Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 2,963.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,591 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 274,335 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up approximately 0.5% of Jump Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jump Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Vistra worth $33,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $633,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 32,047 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,000 after buying an additional 10,249 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,556 shares of the company's stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 3,770 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 78,390 shares of the company's stock worth $10,809,000 after buying an additional 9,337 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 255,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,084,418. This represents a 16.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,650. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VST traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $189.90. 2,720,997 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,539,679. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.90 and a 52-week high of $216.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $194.49 and its 200-day moving average is $158.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. Analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VST has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.93.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.